Australia v Pakistan

1956-57
The mighty Australians were on their way back from a tour of England when they made a stopover to play one Test in Karachi against the babies of cricket. Pakistan had been a Test nation for only four years but Fazal Mahmood and Khan Mohammad were almost unplayable on the Karachi track, dismissing the visitors for 80, after they chose to bat. The wicket did take vicious turn on the second day and captain Ian Johnson took four to bowl out the hosts for 199. Mahmood continued at his hostile best next up, to bowl out Australia for under 200 - finishing with 13 wickets in the match. The 69 runs required for a win, were scored at a snail's pace. Pakistan should have wrapped things up on the fourth day but ended up needing six runs to win on the last.Pakistan 1 Australia 0

1959-60
Australia put in more improved display on their second arrival in Pakistan. Heavy showers prior to the first Test in Dhaka rendered it impossible being played on grass and the spin of Richie Benaud and Ken McKay on the matting pitch handed them the series lead. In Lahore, Australia won by seven wickets, thanks to Lindsay Kline's clever chinaman bowling, and clinched the series - the first country to win a Test rubber in Pakistan. A drab drawn third Test followed in Karachi, which marked the debut of Intikhab Alam. Dwight D Eisenhower became the first US president to see Test cricket, watching proceeedings on the fourth day.Pakistan 0 Australia 2

1964-65
Australia were buoyed on their third visit by captain Bob Simpson, who hit a century in each innings, and Garth McKenzie's fine bowling. Khalid Ibadulla became the first Pakistani to score a hundred on his Test debut. Pakistan introduced six new players to Test Cricket, while Hanif Mohammad captained his country for the first time. Having taken a 62-run lead, Pakistan declared on the final morning, leaving Australia 342 to win in ten minutes under five hours on a still plumb pitch. Simpson and Bill Lawry accepted the challenge in a brisk opening stand, but a stalemate was the eventual result.Pakistan 0 Australia 0

1964-65
Pakistan recovered from early shocks after being sent into bat in their first Test in Australia. Hanif played two brilliant innings of 104 and 93, although taking the cautious route on the last day instead of setting a reasonable task. McKenzie and Hawke bowled well for Australia and with Sincock caused the last five Pakistan first-innings wickets to fall for 62. Australia once again showed their batting strength and the two middle-order left-handers, Bob Cowper and Tom Veivers, produced some sparkling strokes. Right-arm fast bowler Arif Butt persevered for Pakistan and did well in taking six wickets for 89.Australia 0 Pakistan 0

1972-73
Pakistan were comprehensively beaten on their second trip to Australia and the inadequate preparation was clearly visible. The first match in Adelaide witnessed unfavourable publicity concerning umpire Norman Townsend standing in his first Test. But Ashley Mallett's 8 for 59 proved decisive even as Pakistan opener Talat Ali took the match into the final day, batting one-handed due to a broken right thumb suffered in Lillee's second over of the Test. In Melbourne, Pakistan missed out on a win after getting into a favourable position. On a wicket heavily sedated in favour of batsmen, Pakistan needed 293 runs in five and a half hours only to collapse for 200 runs in their second innings. Pakistan's lack of Test inexperience showed in the final match in Sydney as well, as their batsmen were overwhelmed by the occasion. On a green and responsive wicket, the Pakistan quicks Saleem Altaf and Sarfraz Nawaz gave them a chance to regain prestige, but the batsmen fall to a remarkable piece of swing bowling by Max Walker who took six wickets to complete the clean sweep.Australia 3 Pakistan 0

1976-77
A dispute over pay hampered Pakistan's preparations for the tour but they departed a much happier lot, recording their first Test win in Australia. An understrength squad was named, before political intervention and a new selection panel restored normality. The Australians suffered a major setback in the first Test in Adelaide when Jeff Thomson collided with Alan Turner and badly injured his bowling shoulder and that ruled him out of the series. After conceding a big first-innings lead, Pakistan managed a tight draw in Adelaide thanks to Asif Iqbal's defiant century. However, Dennis Lillee vanquished them with a ten-wicket haul in Melbourne to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. But the third Test at the SCG was all about Imran Khan and Sarfraz Nawaz. The pair shared 18 wickets between them with Imran taking 12 of those. Iqbal's century gave Pakistan a sizeable first-innings lead before his strike seam bowlers set up an easy eight-wicket win. The tour was also a PR success for Pakistan, who won the respect of the Australian public for their showing in Sydney. Australia 1 Pakistan 1

1978-79
Pakistan arrived in the country following their tour of New Zealand, where they won the Tests 1-0. At the MCG, they were headed towards a series-opening defeat but Sarfraz Nawaz had other ideas. With Australia needing 77 on the final evening with seven wickets in hand, Sarfraz bowled one of the finest spells in Test history, taking seven wickets for one run in 33 balls, finishing with 9 for 86. At the WACA, Pakistan never really recovered from the loss of half the side for 90 runs in the opening session of play after being sent in to bat. Australia, on the other hand, were much encouraged by brilliant batting and fielding from the recalled Rick Darling, the Man of the Match, and achieved a comfortable win within the last hour of play. However, derogatory comments by Asif Iqbal on the eve of the Melbourne Test on the standards of the Australian and England teams in their series created ill-feeling that manifested itself in several incidents during the two Tests.Australia 1 Pakistan 1

1979-80
The lead-up to the tour was hit by financial problems but eventually, the guarantee was improved from A$94,000 to A$150,000. However, the number of matches was reduced from eight to five, comprising three Tests and two three-day games. It was Javed Miandad's first series as captain, following the retirement of Asif Iqbal. The series featured two boring draws after Pakistan took the first Test in Karachi by seven wickets. Iqbal Qasim and debutant Tauseef Ahmed shared 18 wickets between them in a match dominated by spinners - Australia's Ray Bright took seven in one innings. The conditions were unforgiving for the bowlers in Faisalabad as only two innings were possible. Greg Chappell and Taslim Arif hit double-hundreds and for the first time in Tests, all 11 players (Australia) bowled. Pakistan nearly attempted that tactic in the third game in Lahore (10 bowled), another batsman-dominated match. Pakistan 1 Australia 0

1981-82
The three-Test series was marred by what Wisden described as one of the most undignified incidents in Test history - the Lillee-Miandad mid-pitch scuffle at Perth. Lillee kicked the batsman after a collision and Miandad responded by threatening to hit him with his bat. It was not what the series opener needed, as for Pakistan too as this incident occurred when they were left to chase a daunting 543. Lillee and Greg Chappell combined to dominate the tourists in the second Test at the Gabba to take the series. However, the Australians failed to sweep the series in Melbourne, where they were rolled over by an innings. The Pakistan top order found form to post an imposing 500, which was enough to enforce the follow on. Iqbal Qasim had the best returns among the Pakistanis, and his 4 for 44 bundled out the hosts for 125. In the World Series Cup, Pakistan only narrowly missed reaching the final with West Indies. Australia 2 Pakistan 1

1982-83
Australia's tour of Pakistan in late 1982 was wobbly before it even started, with several big names opting to sit it out, and almost nothing went right from the moment Kim Hughes' side landed, culminating in a 3-0 whitewash. Crowd trouble marred the first Test in Karachi, which Pakistan won by nine wickets. After two incidents, an angry Hughes threatened to scrap the tour then and there. There was worse to come in the ODI at the same venue, which was abandoned, which led to riots spilling into the streets. The Australians proved ill-equipped to cope with a Pakistan side beginning to exert its international authority under the leadership of Imran Khan. Australia lost the second Test by an innings and the third game in Lahore by nine wickets. Pakistan's varied attack caused problems, with Abdul Qadir taking 22 wickets. The one-day series featured the first ever hat-trick in a ODI, by Pakistan's Jalal-ud-Din in Hyderabad.

Pakistan 3 Australia 0

1983-84
Pakistan's acting captain Zaheer Abbas' decision to field first on a Perth track that had enough grass on it to encourage the home side's four fast bowlers proved the wrong one as Australia made 330 for 3 on day one. Wayne Phillips and Graham Yallop added 259 in 267 minutes, a record stand for Australia for any wicket against Pakistan. Australia were eventually contained on a curtailed second day, but Pakistan lost four wickets for 24 before stumps. Pakistan never recovered from their bad start and were forced to follow-on. Carl Rackemann finished with match figures of 11 for 118 and was named Man of the Match. Zaheer opted to bat in gloomy Brisbane, and Pakistan were all out for 156 on a first day which saw three interruptions that restricted play by 125 minutes. Eight wickets fell to edged catches. Centuries to Greg Chappell and Allan Border helped Australia to 7 for 509, after which heavy rain curtailed the match during Pakistan's second innings.

The match in Adelaide produced one of the more remarkable recoveries in modern Test cricket as Pakistan moved to within measurable distance of beating Australia on the last day. Kepler Wessels and Border formed the crux of Australia's 465. Mohsin Khan, Qasim Umar and Javed Miandad struck centuries, Lillee took six out of a reply of 624. Pakistan's total was their highest against Australia, and the most runs conceded by Australia since The Oval Test of 1938 Lillee was the best of the Australian bowlers, taking six for 171 on an easy paced pitch. Australia batted out a draw. Pakistan escaped with a draw in Melbourne, setting up the final match as a decider. It was a memorable one, which the hosts won by ten wickets on a day Australia bade farewell to Lillee, Greg Chappell and Rod Marsh. Australia 2 Pakistan 0

Pakistan crushed Australian by an innings in Karachi. Shoaib Mohammad and Miandad established the Pakistan innings with a fine third-wicket stand of 196 in 279 minutes, after which Miandad moved to his eighteenth Test hundred and then to his fifth Test-match double-hundred - all five made against different countries. Iqbal Qasim demolished Australia's top order on a work track, claiming 4 for 14 in one spell; Australia followed-on, 304 runs behind, and slipped to 66 for 5. An hour and a half on the final morning was all the time Pakistan needed to record their largest victory in Tests. Given the circumstances in which it was gained, it was not necessarily the most meritorious. After a dull draw in Faisalabad, Australia nearly squared the series on a tense final day in Lahore. Border set Pakistan a target of 269 and left his bowlers five hours in which to dismiss them. Pakistan never accepted the challenge, but when they slipped to 131 for 7 with 16 overs remaining, it got close. Ijaz Ahmed, who batted almost two hours for his 15, and Iqbal kept the Australians at bay for another 11 overs, and Iqbal (77 minutes) and Tauseef Umar provided the final resistance.Pakistan1 Australia 0

The beginning of the nineties featured matches between the two teams that were more closely-contested than the decade prior. The three-match series in Australia in 1989-90 was played on competitive tracks with both bowlers and batsmen allowed their share of success. Australia's bowlers won their team the game in the first Test at the MCG, with Terry Alderman, Carl Rackemann and Merv Hughes skittling Pakistan out for 107 in the first innings. Mark Taylor then cracked a century to extend Australia's lead and set Pakistan 429 for victory. Ijaz Ahmed led the response and set the tone for a hugely successful career against Australia but his determined 121 was unable to stave off a 92-run defeat. However, as often in Australia, the umpiring was the subject of criticism with six lbw decisions going the home team's way in the second innings.

A see-saw encounter on a lively pitch in Adelaide continued the enthralling contest, as Pakistan, boosted by centuries from Imran Khan and Wasim Akram gained the upper hand going into the final day. But the game belonged to Dean Jones, who scored a century in each innings to thwart a comeback and retain Australia's lead, which won them the series after a rain-affected draw in Sydney. Australia 1 Pakistan 0

The series began with one of the great Test matches. Pakistan's one-wicket win in Karachi would be recalled as much for the thriller it proved to be, as for the allegations of match-fixing against Pakistan captain Saleem Malik by Shane Warne. Pakistan were the underdogs after conceding an 81-run lead on the first innings but Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, not for the first time, triggered a collapse, taking nine wickets between them to leave their batsmen chasing a target of 315. Pakistan were comfortably placed at the end of the fourth day - and it was on this day that Malik allegedly made his infamous telephone call to Warne and Mark Waugh, offering them money to play badly - at 155 for 3.

Warne hit back on a nerve-wracking final day, taking a five-for and at 258 for 9, with only Inzamam-ul-Haq to rely on, Pakistan were staring at defeat. But it was Ian Healy, the wicketkeeper, who made the ultimate difference, missing a stumping off Inzamam with three needed for victory." I couldn't believe it," Healy said. "While my team-mates choked on appeals and held their heads, in total despair I kicked over the stumps." Two high-scoring draws later, that lapse would cost his team the series. Pakistan 1 Australia 0

The gap between the teams began to widen in the middle of the decade, as Pakistan were demolished by Shane Warne in the first Test in Brisbane. Warne grabbed 11 wickets, including a seven-for in the first innings, to prevent any possibility of a fightback after Australia imposed the follow-on. Saleem Malik, this time, was the object of much abuse from fans and players alike in the aftermath of the allegations that surfaced after the Karachi Test. His dismissal to Warne for nought was as satisfying to the home team as the lop-sided result. Pakistan's batting failed them again in the second Test in Hobart where, despite the absence of Warne, the batsmen were unable to cash in on impressive performances from their bowlers. The result was a 155-run defeat and the series lost. However, the rubber ended on a high for the visitors as Mushtaq Ahmed's leg spin won them the third Test in Sydney by 74 runs. Australa 2 Pakistan 1

Australia continued to stamp their dominance, this time on Pakistan soil, inflicting the first series defeat on their opponents in their own backyard for the first time since 1986-87. Pakistan played as a loose group of individuals and Australia as a tight unit in the only outright result in the rubber, in the first Test in Rawalpindi. Australia cashed in on a turning track through Stuart MacGill, Pakistan didn't. After bowling out the hosts for 269 in the first innings, centuries from Michael Slater and Steve Waugh boosted Australia to 513. Facing an intimidating lead, Pakistan's batsmen failed to measure up to a collective bowling display, collapsing to 145 and losing by an innings and 99 runs.

The next game, in Peshawar, was a high-scoring draw but one of great significance to Australia, as Mark Taylor chose to declare his team's innings on an unbeaten 334, as a tribute to Don Bradman. Ijaz Ahmed notched up yet another century against his favourite opponents in the third Test, but only after a series victory for the visitors was the only result possible. Pakistan 0 Australia 1

Australia, by this time, were arguably the best team in the world and the 3-0 series win was a part of their record 16-match winning streak under the leadership for the inspirational Steve Waugh. Damien Fleming grabbed nine wickets in the opening Test in Brisbane, and backed by Michael Slater and Waugh's centuries along with a blazing 81 from Adam Gilchrist, Australia won by 10 wickets.

The best game of the entire summer came in Hobart, when Australia chased 369 in a thrilling contest. What made Australia's chase so extraordinary was their method of recovery from a slippery 126 for 5. Justin Langer dropped a heavy, stabilising anchor which allowed Adam Gilchrist near-total freedom. He exploded to one of his most thrilling hundreds, carving 149 from just 163 balls. It was not without controversy, however. Wasim Akram was left spitting nails at Peter Parker's decision to not give Langer out caught behind early on the fifth morning. The bowler was inconsolably incensed, and the disappointment rubbed off on Pakistan's morale. Thereafter, their tactics were strangely negative, allowing easy runs for both Langer and Gilchrist. Waugh hailed it as one of Australia's greatest wins, while a devastated Wasim refused to turn up for the post-match press-conference. The cherry on the cake for Australia was a win inside three days in the final game in Perth.Australia 3 Pakistan 0

A marvellous contest fell Australia's way on the last day in Colombo after a feisty young Pakistan team almost conjured a miracle. The Australians had dominated until, in their second innings, a breathtaking spell of five wickets in 15 balls by Shoaib Akhtar turned the tide. Set a difficult 316 to win on the final two days, Pakistan were in striking distance at 187 for 3. But against unremitting bowling they fell short. Pakistan arrived in Sharjah comfortable with the familiar conditions and buoyed by their competitive performance in Colombo. But their mood would quickly darken as they slumped to a display that, even allowing for their reputation for spasmodic performances, could only be described as a shocker. In 125 years, Test cricket had produced only 16 two-day defeats; here, on a slow, flat pitch and against an Australian attack weakened by the absence of the injured Jason Gillespie, Pakistan subsided to the 17th. After Waqar Younis was granted his wish to bat first on one of world cricket's most benign strips, the Pakistanis were rolled over for their lowest-ever score, a pathetic 59, three below their previous worst at Perth in 1981-82. They had lasted less than 32 overs. The final match, also in Sharjah, was a triumphant match for the Australians, collectively and individually. Pakistan were again comprehensively beaten, only just dragging the game into a fourth day; Glenn McGrath became the eighth man in Test history to reach 400 wickets; and Steve Waugh achieved redemption by hitting a thrilling century.Australia 3 Pakistan 0

Australia's largest victory in terms of runs for over 70 years was achieved on the stroke of lunch on the fourth day in Perth after McGrath returned career-best figures of 8 for 24. Pakistan lost their last nine wickets in 21 overs for just 38 in a display their coach Bob Woolmer described as disgraceful. Australia's ability to extricate themselves from a tight corner was well illustrated by a victory that clinched their fifth successive series win over Pakistan. When Michael Clarke was fifth out at 171 shortly before the end of the second day, they faced the likelihood of a first-innings deficit, possibly a large one, and the prospect of a difficult run-chase in the fourth innings. Barely five sessions later, they had won the series.

Australia completed their third successive 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan, who had begun the match with their first century opening stand in this fixture for 22 years, before fading away yet again. From 193 for one they subsided to a below-par 304 all out on a slowish pitch, despite a fine maiden Test hundred from Salman Butt. After that they were always struggling to save the game. Stuart MacGill took a five-wicket haul in his first Test for nearly ten months, to take his record at Sydney to 40 wickets in six Tests, but no less decisive were outstanding innings by Ricky Ponting (who became only the third Australian, after Don Bradman and Greg Chappell, to score four Test double-hundreds) and Adam Gilchrist, whose 13th century passed Andy Flower's Test record for a wicketkeeper.Australia 3 Pakistan 0